Chapter 567: Ch 567 : Searching for Timmy

The group quickly followed Jean to Cider Lake, walking along the shoreline in search of Timmy, but there was no sign of him anywhere.

"Looks like Timmy isn’t here either..." Jean frowned slightly, her expression full of concern.

"According to the reports from the Knights of Favonius," she continued thoughtfully, "the two previous victims were a general store owner and a vegetable vendor from Mondstadt."

"They lived in different parts of the city and worked in completely different trades. If the murderer really was an Eerie Timmy... what could the connection between them possibly be?"

"Connection?" Su Yuan furrowed his brow and said, "Maybe... they both sold things?"

"Well, that’s true," Aether replied, "but if we take that as the link, then the scope of possible victims is way too broad."

As the group pondered over where to search next, a Knight of Favonius suddenly rushed over to them, breathless.

"Acting Grand Master Jean! Bad news—there’s been another victim!"

"This time it’s a farmer from a small village south of Mondstadt!"

"According to our investigation, that farmer had close business ties to the vegetable vendor who was killed earlier—the vendor got all his produce from this farmer!"

"Was the farmer just recently killed?" Jean asked, her expression turning grim.

"Yes," the knight replied.

"When our patrol arrived, the body was still warm. He must’ve been attacked not long ago!"

"In that case," Aether said quickly, "the killer—Timmy, or whoever it is—can’t have gone far. We need to get to that village immediately!"

The group hurried to the scene.

There they found the slain farmer, lifeless among his crops.

"This is so strange..." Paimon said, hovering nervously.

"Wasn’t Timmy’s Eerie state triggered by someone hurting the pigeons he feeds?"

"Could it be that all three victims hurt his pigeons somehow?"

"That’s... possible," Aether admitted.

"If pigeons were eating the crops, the farmer might’ve tried to scare them off. And even though there’s a decree from the Knights forbidding harm to birds, accidents could still happen during that."

"But something doesn’t quite add up..." Su Yuan muttered, deep in thought.

"If Paimon’s theory is right, then these people shouldn’t have any real connection. It’s not like they all got together just to harm pigeons, right?"

"Perhaps they share a coincidence we haven’t noticed," Jean said.

"But either way, we should focus on searching the area. Timmy might still be nearby."

The group searched thoroughly, but—unsurprisingly—they found no trace of Timmy.

"It seems we arrived too late..." Jean sighed.

Then Paimon’s eyes suddenly lit up. "Oh! I just thought of something!"

"If we can’t find Timmy, why don’t we make Timmy come to us?"

"If we hurt the pigeons, he’ll go Eerie again and show up, right? Then, by reversing the conditions, if we heal the pigeons afterward, maybe he’ll return to normal!"

But Aether quickly shook his head. "That won’t work, Paimon. The condition isn’t just ’someone hurts a pigeon.’ It has to be his pigeons—the ones he’s fed himself."

Still, Su Yuan didn’t dismiss the idea entirely.

"Actually, Paimon might be onto something," he said thoughtfully.

"If we try this at the bridge by Mondstadt’s gate, the pigeons there are probably the ones Timmy feeds most often."

So the group returned to Mondstadt’s city bridge, ready to test the plan—when suddenly the same Knight from before rushed over again, even more panicked than before.

"Bad news again, Acting Grand Master!" he shouted.

"There’s been another murder!"

"This time, the victim is a factory worker!"

"And after the murder was discovered, the factory was immediately sealed off!"

"In other words, the killer is very likely still inside the factory!"

"What? Where is this factory located?" Jean frowned and quickly asked.

"It’s the steel factory in the northern part of Mondstadt!" the Knight of Favonius replied.

At once, everyone rushed toward the factory in haste...

But as they did, confusion filled their minds — why would a factory worker become Timmy’s next target?

A worker who spends all day in a closed factory — how could he possibly come into contact with the pigeons Timmy feeds?

"The steel factory in northern Mondstadt is the largest one in the entire city," Jean explained with a doubtful tone.

"It not only produces steel for construction but also supplies materials for many of our everyday stainless-steel goods... So why would a worker here become the next victim?"

"Reporting, Acting Grand Master — before your arrival, the factory was completely sealed off. No one has left since the incident!"

A Knight of Favonius and the factory manager stepped forward and said to the group:

"That means the killer is most likely still inside the factory!"

Although they said so, Su Yuan couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

If Timmy really had been tainted by eerie force... would something like this really be able to keep him contained?

Still, they had no choice — they had to start their search inside the factory.

Everyone split up to look for any trace of Timmy.

Su Yuan, Aether, and Paimon were naturally assigned to the same group...

But before they could even begin their search properly — they unexpectedly ran straight into Timmy!

Timmy stood there with a bright smile, looking at the two of them as he said cheerfully,

"Ah! It’s Brother Su Yuan and the Honorary Knight!"

"What a coincidence — I didn’t expect to run into you here!!!"